Ere ear
by ditzie-blonde
Summary: Winter writing challenge submission. Elizabeth and Henry won't let Stevie get her ears pierced, rebellion ensues.
1. Chapter 1

_Here's my submission for the winter writing challenge. The prompt was "Stevie and/or Alison gets their ears pierced for the first time". I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"But why not!" Stevie McCord cried out in annoyance.

"Stevie, we've been through this" Elizabeth McCord replied, frustration evident in her voice, "You can get your ears pierced when you're 13" she finished with a sigh as she steered her car containing her children along the road.

"But everyone else has their ears pierced!"

"Really? Everybody in your school has their ears pierced?" Elizabeth queried with a hint of humour as she briefly raised her head to look at her eldest daughter in the rearview mirror, one eyebrow lifted to show her scepticism.

"Well, no, obviously not _everyone,_ but Ashley, and Lexi, and Erin, and Rachel, and Sarah..."

"Sorry" Elizabeth interrupted her daughter's rant "your father and I have already discussed this and we've agreed that you can't get your ears pierced until you're 13".

"Ugh! This is so unfair!" Stevie exclaimed as she threw up her hands, before sullenly crossing them and glaring out the car window.

Elizabeth used every fibre of her being not to smile in amusement at her tweenage daughter's antics. Every year around the time of Stevie's birthday they would have the same conversation. Stevie would ask to get her ears pierced for her birthday and every year Henry and she would tell her she couldn't get her ears pierced until she was 13. It was something she and her husband had agreed on years ago, none of their children could get their ears pierced until they were old enough and responsible enough to look after their own piercing. 13 had seemed like a good age, the first grown up thing they could have done as they entered their teenage years. She just needed to get through the next couple of years with Stevie first.

Pulling into the driveway of her home she parked the car and began the task of getting Alison and Jason out of the car, sighing as Stevie stormed out of the car and stood moodily at the front door. As much as she found her tweenage daughter's antics amusing, they were equally as grating on her patience.

As she opened the front door and hustled her family into the house she vaguely heard Stevie's voice over the din of Alison and Jason's cries of joy at being home from school.

"Can I use your computer?"

"Why?" she queried distractedly as she struggled with book bags, lunch boxes, and coats.

"Need to use the internet to do some research for my history homework" Stevie replied grumpily.

"That's fine" Elizabeth replied, a cry from the living room causing her not to question Stevie any further and disappear into the room to investigate the cause of the cry.

Stevie was so angry at her parents. All she wanted was to get her ears pierced so she could wear pretty earrings like her best friends. For as long as she could remember she had wanted her ears pierced and all her parents kept saying was that she had to wait until she was 13. 13! That was forever away!

After loading up her profile on the computer she dutifully started Googling the list of historical people she had been given to research for her homework and she was soon distracted by the task. She was startled by her MSN Messenger alert and she quickly looked up to make sure her mum had not heard the alert as she wasn't allowed on Messenger whilst doing her homework. Seeing her mum chopping something up in the kitchen she breathed a sigh of relief that her mum hadn't heard the alert and she quickly muted the sound on the computer and opened Messenger:

 _AwesomeAsh562: Hi!_

A smile lit up Stevie's face and her mood brightened as she realised her best friend, Ashley, from her old school in Langley was online

 _SuperStevie1010: Hi! I miss you!_

 _AwesomeAsh562: I miss you too! Class just isn't the same without you!_

 _SuperStevie1010: Class here isn't the same either. Miss my BFF! Can't believe we've lived on the horse farm for 6 months now! How are you?_

 _AwesomeAsh562: Bored! Supposed to be doing homework! Can't wait to come and visit you at the horse farm in the summer!_

 _SuperStevie1010: Me too! It will be so cool when you come for summer, I can teach you how to ride! Any goss?_

 _AwesomeAsh562: Hmmmm... Maddy and Kaitlyn fell out as Max asked Kaitlyn to the school dance and Kaitlyn said yes, even though she knew Maddy liked Max. Oh! And April swears she saw Mr Caines and Miss Miller kissing in the cupboard!_

 _SuperStevie1010_ : _OMG! Didn't I tell you that Mr Caines and Miss Miller liked each other! Can't believe that Kaitlyn said yes to Max_

 _AwesomeAsh562: I know! So any goss with you?_

 _SuperStevie1010: My parents still won't let me get my ears pierced! I'm so mad at them!_

 _AwesomeAsh562: That sucks! You're almost 11! I've had mine pierced since I was 8!_

 _SuperStevie1010: I know! They keep saying I have to wait until I'm 13!_

 _AwesomeAsh562: That's crazy!_

 _SuperStevie1010: I know! It's so unfair!_

 _AwesomeAsh562: Perhaps you should just pierce them yourself lol!_

Stevie paused as she read Ashley's last message. Could she pierce how own ears? Was it even possible? Glancing around the computer screen she could see her mum moving around in the kitchen and she could hear Alison and Jason playing in the living room. She opened up a new browser and nervously typed in a new search as she continued to chat with Ashley. The results of her new search piqued her interest immediately.

* * *

Stevie McCord glanced at the items in front of her with a mixture of trepidation, happiness, and nervousness. It had taken her 4 days to assemble the items she needed to pierce her ears and then she'd had to wait almost another week before she could be sure her parents would be out long enough for her to actually pierce her ears, but finally it was now Friday evening and her parents had gone out on a date night leaving her, Alison, and Jason with their babysitter. The babysitter had checked on them all 30 minutes ago and she'd pretended to be asleep so she was confident that the babysitter wouldn't be up to check on her again anytime soon. She'd heard her mum tell the babysitter that they wouldn't be home until about 11pm, it was now 9.30pm so she had plenty of time to get her task done and be in bed before her parents got home. She sat at her desk with her desk light on, a needle and the earrings she had stolen from her mum's jewellery box soaking in hydrogen peroxide, and a square of a Kool n Soothe patch stuck to each side of her ear lobe. The instructions she'd printed from the internet said to use an ice cube, but she'd not been able to figure out how to get an ice cube upstairs without being caught, so she hoped the Kool n Soothe patch worked just as well.

According to the instructions, all she had to do once her ear lobe was numb was to wipe it with hydrogen peroxide to sterilise it, draw a dot where she wanted the earring to be, push the needle through, and then quickly push the earring in as she pulling the needle out. And then finally she'd have pierced ears!

Taking the Kool n Soothe patches off her ear lobe she quickly wiped the skin with hydrogen peroxide, picked up the marker pen and placed a dot on her ear, checking in the mirror several times that it was central and where she would want the earring to be. Nervously she picked up the needle and pressed it against her ear lobe. She hissed as she felt the sharp prick of the needle and quickly pulled it away- it hurt! The instructions said it wouldn't hurt but it did! She tried again, pressing a little harder, but it still hurt - a lot. Her eyes blurred with tears as she thought about how unfair it was that she had to pierce her own ears. All her other friends had had their ears pierced professionally and said it hadn't hurt. She felt weak and mad at herself that she couldn't take the pain- she was a McCord after all - but being a McCord also meant quitting was not in her nature and she held the needle more firmly in her hand determined this time that she would get the needle through her ear lobe. She raised the needle to her ear and pushed even harder, this time she heard a ripping sound which was immediately followed by a burning sensation that caused her to wince and her eyes to water with fresh tears. She took a deep breath and paused for a few moments before she tightened her grip on the needle once again as a shot of determination ran through her. She'd gotten this far, she wasn't going to quit now no matter how much it burnt and stung. Having pierced ears would be worth it. She was just getting ready to push the needle through the back of her ear when her bedroom door opened...

* * *

 _So I have no idea how, but I've somehow made a story about getting your ears pierced into a 3 chapter piece! I'll try my best to post the next chapter tomorrow, but realistically it probably won't be until Friday._

 _Oh, and the story is set around 2006 when I think Stevie would have been about 10/11 and Elizabeth hadn't long left the CIA. I think MSN Messenger was still popular with tweenagers/teenagers then as I'm pretty sure my cousin used to use it around that time when she was a tweenager/teenager._


	2. Chapter 2

_I know I said in the last chapter that I'd have this up on Friday, but the day just kind of got away from me (in a good way). Technically it is still (just) Friday here at the time of posting._

 _Just a heads up that the beginning and end part of this chapter may be considered "M" ish by some. I've checked the definitions on FF and personally I think it's fine for readers 13 and up, I'm pretty sure I read worse than this in young adult books when I was a teenager, but others might disagree. Sex ed in the U.K. starts pretty early (around 7/8 years old) so by the time we're 13 we're probably a bit more aware than other areas of the world. Apologies in advance if anyone is offended._

* * *

There was no other way to describe it, Elizabeth McCord was turned on. She wanted her husband, and if by the way Henry was currently breaking the speed limit and driving rather erratically along the road was anything to go by, he wanted her too. Of course the fact her hand was resting rather high up on his inner thigh might have something to do with his distracted driving, but still, it turned her on to know that even after 15 years together she could still have this effect on him.

Working full time and taking care of 3 kids meant she and her husband had not been intimate for over a month, and it had been longer still since they had been on a date. But tonight they'd finally managed to arrange a babysitter and had gone out to dinner and a movie. Well, they'd had dinner. Over the meal Henry and she had flirted outrageously and by the time they'd got to the cinema they hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other. They'd started making out almost as soon as they sat down and it had soon become apparent that if she and her husband did not leave the cinema they would be doing a lot more than making out. So that's how she found herself arriving home with Henry at 9.40pm on their date night - only neither of them had any intention of ending the date night anytime soon.

Henry had just switched off the engine of the car and her hand was on the door handle when she felt her husband's arms wrap around her and pull her towards him urgently. She barely had time to take a breath before his lips crashed down on hers and her tongue started doing battle with his. God how she wanted her husband right now!

"Babe" she whispered, then gasped as Henry talented lips made their way to that spot behind her ear that always drove her crazy, her hand instinctively coming up to hold his head in place.

"Hmmm" he replied as the arm around her waist tried to pull her closer and the other found its way to her breast which he started to massage delicately.

"We're home" she whispered huskily as she felt her sanity slipping.

"Hmmmm" came her husband's distracted reply as he gently bit down on her collarbone, eliciting another gasp from her.

"Babe" she tried again, this time somehow finding the willpower to grab his head and move it away from her collarbone. Her eyes met his and she could see the desire and the longing in them, which only fuelled her own arousal for him. "Pay the babysitter and meet me in the bedroom" she commanded.

Henry groaned before he kissed her one last time, pulled away, and exited the car. Henry's willpower did not last long and as soon as she was out the car his arms were around her and they were making out again as they stumbled out from the garage and towards their house. She fumbled with the front door keys as Henry once again started placing a line of kisses up her neck however, the sound of the door handle turning seemed to click something in both their minds and in the seconds it took them to enter through the doorway into the hallway of their home they managed to make themselves somewhat presentable again.

"Pay the babysitter, Henry" she whispered as she turned and walked upstairs, swaying her hips seductively. She could feel her husband's eyes following her as she sashayed up the stairs and she couldn't resist turning around and biting her bottom lip in the way she knew Henry couldn't resist. Just before she lost sight of her husband as she turned into the upstairs hallway she saw him swallow thickly and adjust the crotch area of his trousers. Oh how she could not wait for her husband to join her! Her body was pulsing with need.

She started heading for their bedroom when she saw a soft glow coming from underneath her eldest daughter's bedroom door. A wave of concern washed over her that Stevie might still be awake and she crept towards her daughter's room to check that she was ok. She gently pushed the door open so as to not to disturb her daughter in case she had simply fallen asleep with the light on, only the sight that met her vision filled her with panic and anger.

"Stephanie McCord! What do you think you are doing?"

Stevie froze as she heard her mother's voice, the needle still halfway in her ear lobe.

"Well?" her mother demanded.

Stevie remained frozen to the spot feeling like a deer caught in headlights. Her mind had gone completely blank. She couldn't think of a thing to say.

Her mum stepped forward then and turned her head towards her before gently pulling her hand away from her ear and removing the needle from her fingers. Stevie hissed as the needle was removed and the burning sensation intensified. She willed the tears that had formed in her eyes not to fall.

"You're bleeding" Elizabeth stated with concern as she surveyed the items on her daughter's desk. Seeing the cotton wool balls she picked one up and pressed it to firmly to her daughter's ear causing Stevie to whimper.

"Were you trying to pierce your own ears?" Elizabeth asked in a hard voice, quickly realising what the items on her daughter's desk were for.

Stevie looked up at her mother and swallowed hard, she'd never her seen her look so angry.

"Yes" she whispered as she looked down at her feet, the tears finally spilling over the rims of her eyes.

"Oh Stevie" Elizabeth muttered disappointedly as she let out a frustrated sigh.

"Stevie, what are you still doing up? Elizabeth, what's wrong?" Henry McCord asked, panic and concern evident in his voice as he stood in the doorway of his eldest daughter's room and surveyed the scene before him.

Elizabeth turned to look at her husband, a wave of disappointment running through her as she realised their plans for the evening were probably cancelled now that they'd have to sort out their daughter's ear.

"Stevie was trying to pierce her own ears and now it's bleeding. Can you grab me a Band-Aid?" Elizabeth asked her husband.

Henry eyes widened in surprise and shock and he was momentarily rendered immobile as his brain tried to process Elizabeth's words. His daughter had tried to do what?

"Henry, the Band Aid" Elizabeth asked again in an exasperated tone.

"Yeah, sure..." he muttered before turning and heading towards the family bathroom. Why had his daughter decided to pierce how own ears? Granted it was coming up to Stevie's birthday and every year for weeks beforehand she would ask if she could get her ears pierced, Elizabeth had even mentioned to him just over a week ago that she'd asked once again, but what had possessed her to try and do it herself? How had she figured out how to do it?

Grabbing a Band Aid from the first aid box he sighed in frustration as he realised that he and Elizabeth would probably not be having sex tonight. He'd so been looking forward to it too! He loved his kids and wouldn't change his life for the world, but sometimes he longed for the days when it was just him and Elizabeth and they could make love whenever they wanted. It wasn't like he was some sort of sex fiend, it was just that he missed being intimate with his wife, missed the comfort of feeling her warm skin against his all night without the barriers of their nightclothes - because they could never be sure when one of the kids would have a nightmare and come rushing into their room in the middle of the night.

He returned to his daughter's room and his heart skipped a beat at the sight that greeted him. Elizabeth was crouched down in front of Stevie wiping the tears off her cheeks as she pressed the cotton wool ball firmly against their eldest daughter's ear. He could tell that Stevie was in pain and that Elizabeth was angry, but in that moment she was in full on mother hen caring mode worrying about their daughter's ear and he fell a little bit more in love with her.

He moved over towards the desk and picked up a fresh cotton wool ball then doused it in hydrogen peroxide. Gently he removed Elizabeth's hand from Stevie's ear and was relieved to see that although Stevie's ear lobe was bright red, the bleeding had stopped. He gently dabbed the cotton wool against the small hole Stevie had made and winced as she hissed in pain.

"Sorry" he stated apologetically.

"It's ok, baby" Elizabeth muttered as she stroked her daughter's face. She may be angry and disappointed with Stevie, but she could not stand it when her children were in pain, self-inflicted or not.

"But it stings!" Stevie sobbed, angry at herself for crying like a baby and for getting caught.

"I know, baby. But we've got to make sure it's clean so it doesn't get infected" Elizabeth told her daughter in a soothing voice as Henry continued to wipe the hydrogen peroxide over Stevie's ear.

"I think that should do it for now" Henry stated as he picked up the Band Aid and awkwardly attached it to Stevie's ear after wiping the area dry first. "We'll check it in the morning and clean it again to make sure".

Henry turned and sat on the edge of his daughter's bed, resting his arms on his thighs and leaning forward so that he too was at Stevie's level. "Why did you do it, Stevie?" he asked.

"And who gave you these instructions and earrings?" Elizabeth added as she noted the computer print out on her daughter's desk.

Stevie nervously turned her head to look at both her parents, initially unsure whether to tell the truth or try and come up with a lie. Deep down she knew lying was pointless and wrong, her mum used to work for the CIA after all and could always tell when Alison, Jason, or she were lying. Ultimately she decided to simply tell the truth. "From the internet. I looked it up when I was supposed to be doing my homework and then I snuck into your room and took some earrings from your jewellery box" Stevie mumbled, ashamed at having stolen from her mother.

"Stevie!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "You stole from me?"

"I'm sorry, mum. All my friends have their ears pierced and..."

"Stevie" Elizabeth interrupted "You can't base you're life decisions on what other people have" she said sternly.

"And your mother and I have always been very clear that you can get your ear piercing when you're 13" Henry stated firmly. "We want to make sure..."

"But that's so unfair!" Stevie exclaimed angrily as she interrupted her father. "I'm nearly 11, I can look after my own ears! I know that I'd have to clean them twice a day for 6 weeks with hydrogen peroxide! I know I'd have to turn the studs daily so that the hole heals! I've seen all my friends do it and I've wanted my ears pierced since forever!"

"It may be true that in theory you know how to look after your ears, but remember your goldfish? They barely lasted a week before you got bored and stopped looking after them. You've also just broken the trust your father and I had in you. You stole these earrings from my jewellery box, Stevie. You violated your computer privileges by looking up how to pierce your ears when you were supposed to be doing your homework. And what if we hadn't caught you and your ears had got infected? Your actions do not speak of a responsible person" Elizabeth stated firmly.

"But..." Stevie began.

"No, 'buts', Stevie. No ear piercing" Henry said with authority. "Now it's late, get into bed and we're discuss this further in the morning".

Stevie looked into the disappointed and annoyed expressions on her parents faces and was immediately overcome with guilt. She was still angry and felt indignant that she couldn't get her ears pierced, and she didn't understand why she had to wait until she was 13, but she had stolen and lied to her parents like they said and she felt terrible about it.

"Sorry for stealing from you mum" she muttered as she got up from her chair and settled herself in bed. Her mum came up then and tucked her in as her dad turned off her desk light.

"Night, Stevie" Elizabeth said as she smoothed the hair from her daughter's forehead and placed a gentle kiss there.

"Night, night, sleep tight" Henry said to his eldest daughter as he stood in the doorway of her room. He wondered how the tiny buddle he had held in his arms a little over a decade ago was suddenly this strong, stubborn, defiant, girl. Where had the time gone?

He held the door open for his wife as she left the room and was just pulling the door closed when he heard his daughter call out to both of them.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked in concern at the tearful voice of his daughter.

"Do you still love me?" Stevie whispered.

Henry felt Elizabeth grab his hand at Stevie's question and he knew the same stab of pain that had hit his heart at Stevie's question had also hit hers. How was it that kids knew just how to wound you like that?

"Of course, baby" Elizabeth replied softly as she once again entered her daughter's room and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"To the moon and back" he confirmed as he mirrored his wife's action and wiped the tears off Stevie's face.

"Love you too" Stevie mumbled as she snuggled herself under the covers, comforted that her parents still loved her despite what she'd done.

Henry wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and pulled her close to him as they walked quietly to their bedroom, checking Alison's and Jason's rooms on the way to make sure they had not been disturbed by Stevie's antics. He could feel how tense her body was against his and no sooner had he flicked the bedside lamps on and closed the bedroom door did Elizabeth start pacing angrily across their room.

"Can you believe her?" Elizabeth exclaimed pointing in the direction of their daughter's room. "Of all the things I could imagine Stevie doing, trying to pierce her own ears was not one of them. What was she thinking?!"

"I don't know, babe" he replied tiredly as he sat on their bed and started untying his shoes.

"I mean, the snooping and the stealing... didn't we raise her better than this? We've taught them not to steal, right?"

"We did, but she's a kid, she's allowed to make a mistake. Plus, you know, her mother is a spy, snooping is kind of the family business" he replied with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. However, the look Elizabeth shot him caused the smile to fade from his face.

"A mistake! You call that a mistake! She shoved a needle through her ear just because we said no to something!"

"Ok, babe, calm down" he replied softly as he got up and grabbed his wife's arms causing her to stop pacing. "She's a good kid, she just did a silly thing."

Elizabeth looked up into her husband's face and groaned "You're about to plead her case aren't you?"

Henry shrugged sheepishly. "Well she did make a good point about her being old enough to look after her own ears. She impressed me that she seems to know how to look after pierced ears and she does help look after Ali and Jason all the time. Not to mention that she's getting straight A's at school and is captain of her soccer team, despite starting a new school following the move to the horse farm. She's 10, she made a mistake but she's a good kid at heart".

"So, you're saying we should just give in? Let her get her own way? Because I've got to say, we're coming up to the dangerous teenage years and if we give in now she'll come to expect it. Then what? Nose piercing, belly button piercing, a tattoo!" Elizabeth exclaimed shrugging off her husband's hold as she threw her hands up in the air as she started pacing again.

"No, I'm not saying that" Henry replied tiredly as he ran his hands over his face and sunk back down onto the foot of their bed. "I'm just saying that we ought to consider letting her have her ears pierced."

"What!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she whirled around to face her husband, a look of shock on her face.

Henry held his hands up in a defensive manner. "I'm just saying I'd rather let her get her ears pierced professionally now then wait until she tries to pierce them again herself and ends up with an infection. I mean, how old were you when you got your ears pierced?"

Immediately Elizabeth looked away from him and suspicion rose within him. "Elizabeth, how old were you?" he asked again as he rose to stand in front of his wife, but still she would not look at him.

"Elizabeth..."

"I was 10. My mum took me to get them pierced on my 10th birthday" Elizabeth mumbled.

"So you already had your ears pierced by the time you were Stevie's age now?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, but this is different" his wife began defensively.

He made a guffaw sound. "Really, because I don't see how? I never took you for a hypocrite, Elizabeth" he stated in a no nonsense tone as he folded his arms across his chest and waited for his wife's response.

Elizabeth continued to avoid her husband's gaze. Sometimes she really hated being married to a religion professor! Truth be told, she was at a loss for words. She couldn't really figure out herself how it was different, it just was.

"She's my baby" she whispered finally as she looked into her husband's eyes earnestly, willing him to understand something that she herself couldn't. Right now, that was the only explanation she could offer.

Henry considered his wife for a moment. He could see the fear and sadness in her eyes and he thought he might know why she didn't want Stevie to get her ears pierced.

"You're scared that by letting her get her ears pierced it shows she's growing up. That she's not your baby anymore".

"I guess" Elizabeth replied with a shrug, still not being able to articulate what she was feeling. She wanted her daughter to grow up to be a strong, independent woman, she just wasn't sure she was ready for her daughter to become one. Part of her felt like she'd missed a huge portion of her daughter's life when she'd been working for the CIA, she just wanted to make the most of the few pre-teen years Stevie still had left.

"Oh babe" he whispered as he pulled her close and into a hug. He felt his wife's hands cling to his shirt and her head rest on his shoulder as she breathed heavily against him, sounding as if she was fighting tears. "She's always going to be our baby" he reassured "But we have to let her grow up, we don't want her living at home when she's 20!"

Elizabeth laughed at this and pushed herself away slightly to peer into her husband's eyes. "True. But I still don't want her thinking she can lie and steal and get away with it."

"I agree, so what do you suggest?"

"Hmmm, definitely no internet privileges for a month and grounded for 2 weeks"

"Sounds reasonable" Henry agreed.

"The horses are coming back from the winter stables in 2 weeks. I was thinking that she could take responsibility for her own horse when he's back. I looked after my own horse when I was 10, and if she's grown up enough to research how to pierce her own ears and actually do it, then she deserves some more responsibility" Elizabeth stated.

"Ok. How about if she proves she can look after how own horse until he goes off to the winter stables again then she can have her ears pierced for Christmas?" he posed gently.

"But I don't just want her looking after him just because there's a reward at the end" Elizabeth replied, the frustration evident in her voice.

"So, we don't tell her that she can get her ears pierced if she looks after her horse. We let her think that the no internet privileges and grounding are her punishment..." Henry replied in a conspiring tone.

"But secretly we're testing her to see if she's mature enough to get her ears pierced. I like it, Dr McCord!" Elizabeth replied with a smile as she gently smacked her husband's chest.

Henry grinned at his wife. "You know, I think I have something else you might like..." he whispered sexily as he leaned forward and claimed his wife's lips. Almost instantaneously all the passion and desire he'd felt early came rushing back and he felt himself hardening as he pulled his wife tight against him. He'd never felt more desperate to make love to his wife.

Elizabeth relaxed into her husband embraced as he kissed her senseless. Now that the situation with Stevie had been resolved she was more than happy to get back to their earlier plans - it really had been too long. She could feel her arousing building quickly and she pulled her husband closer, grinding her hips into his and releasing a sultry moan as she felt him hardening against her.

"You always know exactly what I like..." she whispered as his lips left hers and trailed down her neck as they stumbled backwards towards their bed.

* * *

 _So, I wanted this chapter to be from the parents perspective. I don't have kids, but I'm pretty sure there must be occasions when parents have other "things" planned, but have to drop those plans as an issue with their kids needs to be resolved/addressed first. Here's my attempt at exploring that. I hope you enjoyed it!_


	3. Chapter 3

_December 2006_

"But Mum, I don't want to go" Stevie McCord whined.

"Stevie, I need your help with the Christmas shopping. Jason's at Brad's house, Alison is at Art Club, and your Dad's at work, so you're up kid".

"This is so unfair" Stevie replied grumpily as she put on her boots and stomped out to the car. Ever since she'd tried to pierce her own ears her parents had decided she was 'old enough for some extra responsibility'. What that meant in reality was that she had been given extra chores to do and she had to look after her horse whilst he was at home. If she'd know she'd be given so much 'responsibility' for trying to pierce her own ears she never would have tried. She'd resigned herself now to having to wait until she was 13 to get her ears pierced as she really didn't want any more 'responsibility'.

Elizabeth had to use all of her spy training not to smile at her daughter's antics. Joining her daughter in the car she made small talk with Stevie as she drove towards the mall, little did her daughter know where they were actually going today.

"So where to first" Stevie asked in a bored tone.

"Well, I need to pick up a bottle of my favourite nail polish from the beauticians, so how about we head there first?"

"Ok" Stevie replied with a shrug. Walking around the mall was not what she wanted to do when she could be at home watching TV without her brother and sister annoying her. She dutifully followed her mum to the beauticians, but stopped suddenly when she saw her dad sat in the waiting room.

"Dad, what are...?"

"Hi, we have an appointment booked for Stephanie McCord at 11am" she heard her mother say to the receptionist.

"What's going on?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice as she looked up at her parents with a baffled expression.

"Well, sweetheart, we're very impressed with how you've been dealing with the extra chores we've been given you" her dad began.

"And how well you looked after your horse this summer" her mother interrupted.

"So we've decided that you can get you can get your ears pierced as a Christmas present" her dad continued.

"That is, if that's what you still want to?" her mother finished with a smile.

Excitement washed over Stevie. "Yes! Yes, I want to get my ears pierced!"

"Well, ok then!" her parents replied with a smile.

"Stephanie McCord?" a lady dress in white called from the doorway of one of the treatment rooms.

"Yes?" she replied nervously.

"Hi, I'm Beverley and I have you down for ear piercing today. Now if I could just get your consent form..."

"Right here" her dad replied and handed the beautician a form

Beverley glanced over the form. "Good, this all looks in order. Would you like to follow me?"

Stevie looked at her parents suddenly scared. As much as she wanted her ears pierced, she remembered how much it had hurt last time.

Elizabeth watched as the excitement faded from Stevie's face and was replaced by fear. "What's the matter, baby" she asked softly in concern, stroking her daughter's face at the same time.

Henry also noticed the change in his daughter's expression, and when Stevie didn't respond, he joined his wife, resting a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder as he did so. "Have you changed your mind?"

Stevie shook her head, she definitely wanted her ears pierced but..."It hurt. Last time...when I tried to... it hurt" she whispered.

"Oh Stevie" Elizabeth replied as she pulled her daughter in close for a hug. "You barely feel it when it's done properly with a gun, I promise."

"She's right" Beverley reassured. "But your parents can come in with you if you'd like?"

"Yes, can you come with me?" Stevie asked her parents desperately as she peered up at them.

"Of course, sweetheart" her dad confirmed with a warm smile.

Together the three McCord's followed Beverley into the treatment room and Stevie sat on the chair as instructed.

"Here's our selection of piercing studs. Which ones would you like?" Beverley asked.

Stevie looked at the selection and saw a pair with a pale blue stone in the middle. "Those, I really like those" she replied in a quiet voice, suddenly feeling a little nauseous.

"Good choice" Beverley replied with a warm smile.

Beverley explained what she was doing as she cleaned her ear lobe and placed dots on them, but it didn't make her feel any better. She remembered doing this part 9 months ago, this wasn't the bad part.

"So, what do you think? These are where the earrings will go" Beverley asked Stevie as she held a mirror up.

"That looks good" Stevie replied nervously, swallowing as her stomach turned and Beverley loaded the earring into the gun explaining what would happen as she went.

"Stevie, are you ok?" her mum asked her in concern noticing her daughter suddenly looked very pale.

"I feel sick" she whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"Oh baby" her mum whispered comfortingly. "It's going to be fine, it'll be done before you know it. Here, you can hold my hand".

"Mine too" her dad said as he stepped forward and placed her other hand in his.

She sensed, rather than felt, Beverley place the gun on her ear lobe and she squeezed her eyes shut and grasped her parents hands tightly. She heard a clicking sound and then...

"First one done" Beverley confirmed.

Stevie's eyes flew open. It didn't hurt!

"It's done?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes" replied Beverley as she moved to her other ear.

Not 20 seconds later she heard the same clicking sound and...

"All done" Beverley confirmed with a smile. "Would you like to see?"

"Yes please!" Stevie replied enthusiastically.

Beverley held up a mirror and Stevie looked at herself for the first time with pierced ears, a huge smile breaking out on her face. She couldn't believe that her ears where finally pierced!

"They look really good!" she exclaimed.

"Really pretty" her dad agreed.

"They do" she heard her mum whisper and noticed the tears in her eyes and that her dad had his arm around her.

"Mum, what's the matter" she asked in concern.

"Oh nothing, you just look so grown up"

Stevie's smile widened at the compliment, before her attention was drawn back to Beverley who was explaining the aftercare instructions.

"You ok, babe" Henry whispered in his wife's ear.

"Yeah" Elizabeth replied with a watery smile. "I just can't believe how quickly she's grown up".

"I know. But you know what, we still have Alison and what's the betting she'll start asking if she can have her ears pierced as soon as she sees Stevie's..."

"Oh god! Elizabeth groaned into her husband's shoulder.

Henry simply chuckled and pulled Elizabeth closer as he gazed in wonder at the beautiful young woman his daughter was becoming, complete with shiny gold studs in her ears.

* * *

 _Well that's it folks! I hope you enjoyed the final chapter and thanks to everyone who read the story and to those of you who have left me a review._


End file.
